1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a network fax machine and more specifically to an embedded fax server that faxes files received from a remote client.
2. Discussion of the Background
A conventional fax machine requires a user to leave his or her desk to physically carry a document to be faxed to the fax machine. Since many documents are stored electronically, methods for sending faxes from a personal computer (PC) have been developed. This has eliminated the requirement that users physically carry documents to be faxed to a fax machine, saving both time and money.
Examples of popular PC fax applications are Symantec Corp.'s WINFAX PRO 9.0 and the Computer Associates' BITWARE 4.0. PC fax applications permit documents electronically stored on a PC to be faxed via a modem attached to the PC. However, PC fax applications are for single users and are not a network fax solution. Additionally, PC fax software has to be individually installed on each PC, a modem is required for each PC, and users are required to connect their modem to a conventional public switched telecommunications network (PSTN) and set the modem settings.
Internet or local area network (LAN) fax machines, such as the Ricoh 4800L, can be connected to a LAN. Internet fax machines permit a client PC to send Group 3 (G3) fax messages to the Internet fax machine over the LAN. The Internet fax machine then sends the fax message to a destination such as a G3 fax machine connected to a PSTN or an e-mail address. However, conventional Internet fax machines require PC fax software such as WINFAX, and a COM redirector driver, which redirects fax messages from the PC fax software to an ETHERNET card rather than the COM port. Thus, use of conventional Internet fax machines requires installation of specialized software on each PC.
Windows NT and Unix fax servers have developed rapidly since the T.37 Internet Fax Standards were approved by the ITU-T (International Telecommunications Union-Telecommunications Sector) in June 1998. The T.37 recommendations define the service, file formats and addressing methods for the “Simple Mode” of Internet Fax via e-mail as RFCs (Request for Comments) 2301–2305. The Fax Server is usually directly integrated with the e-mail server and works as a gateway between Internet e-mail and G3 facsimile. The fax server retrieves the fax messages from the message queue of the e-mail server and sends the attachments as well as text messages to the destination via the PC fax modems. Some vendors (e.g., Biscom Corporation) have also developed Web page user interfaces for their fax servers. The fax server allows all network users to send and receive faxes right from their desktop. However, an extra workstation (e.g., NT or Unix workstation) is required to run the fax server. The addressing methods for Internet Fax is not intuitive and requires training in order to use Internet fax services. For example, the Internet fax message addressing syntax “Fax=/num=1408-954-5353/name=John@faxserver.com” indicates that a fax is to be sent to 1408-954-5353. The intended receiver is John, and “faxserver.com” is the domain name of the fax server. Some fax servers are inconvenient to use because they require fax client software to be installed on each user's PC before he can use the fax services. The fax servers do not provide any means for a user to directly fax a hardcopy of a document to a fax number as a normal G3 fax machine does.
Printer servers have been implemented to allow administrative tasks to be remotely executed via a hyper text transfer protocol (HTTP) server resident on a printer. For example, Hewlett Packard's HP LaserJet 8100 series printers include HTTP servers. However, such HTTP servers are merely provided so that a user can access configuration and diagnosis information (e.g., network status, device identification, system configuration, security, diagnosis, and technical support) from a remote client connected to the HTTP server. Such HTTP servers do not provide direct printing services via a Web browser running on a client connected to the HTTP server.